Actor Anupam Kher is overwhelmed that the story of The Kashmir Files (2022) is taking a global shape as the film has a shot at earning an Oscar nomination after getting eligible. He also says that it is an answer to all the people who called it a propaganda film.
“It is a shortlisting, not a nomination. But the thousand-mile journey is done by taking the first step. It’s a great feeling. The film is not just cinema, a story of all those people who suffered because of the genocide. It was a very personal subject for me, and became more personal after some people questioned the intention of the filmmaker and the people involved with it,” says Anupam Kher, reports Hindustan Times.
The 67-year-old adds, “I’m equally thrilled about getting shortlisted. It is the beginning of a big dream. I’m from a small town, who came to Bombay, and now to get shortlisted for the performance of a film.. It is a humbling feeling”.
In fact, the actor feels the film getting noticed by the Academy is also a nod to the “glory of Indian cinema”, adding, “We represent not only those people who were thrown out of their homes in Kashmir but also the 1.4 billion people”.
Along with The Kashmir Files, other films including RRR, Gangubai Kathiawadi, Kantara and Chhello Show (Last Film Show) have been named in the list of 301 films eligible for the Oscar nominations.
Anupam Kher says, “I will wish and pray that it gets nominated, but I am equally happy and proud of the other four films, which have been shortlisted. In the end, it is Indian cinema which is at the global stage.”
